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You are here: Home / Google+ Posts / Facebook will be adding encryption to Messenger – but don't believe your messages will be private

Facebook will be adding encryption to Messenger – but don't believe your messages will be private

July 8, 2016 by Paul Spoerry 7 Comments



Facebook to Add ‘Secret Conversations’ to Messenger App
The app has long taken a back seat to the social media giant’s WhatsApp, but Facebook hopes the service will attract a global audience.

Like the Telegram and the forthcoming Google Allo you have to opt-in for your messages to be encrypted. Having encryption turned on by default is important in that it protects and secures users who aren’t tech savvy and might not understand the benefits of encrypted communication. Basically, most users will simply not enable the setting – so your communication won't be secure.

Facebook’s new “Secret” mode in messenger will use the Signal encryption protocol. That's a bonus as it's received universal praise from security experts. These big companies aren't enabling it by default because they want to read the content of your messages. It's part of how they make money and I get it, but doing it opt-in actually creates a false sense of security.

“There are many Telegram users who think they are communicating in an encrypted way, when they’re not because they don’t realize that they have to turn on an additional setting,” Christopher Soghoian, Principal Technologist and Senior Policy Analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union, told Gizmodo. “Telegram has delivered everything that the government wants. Would I prefer that they used a method of encryption that followed industry best practices like WhatsApp and Signal? Certainly. But, if its not turned on by default, it doesn’t matter.”

By the way… you can have fully encrypted SMS AND voice calls for free via apps made by OpenWhisperSystems; the creators of the Signal encryption protocol (https://whispersystems.org/). Yes… the same protocol all these big companies are using in their messenger apps but aren't (with the exception of WhatsApp) enabling by default… you can get apps that do and for free.

Check this out on Google+

Filed Under: Google+ Posts

About Paul Spoerry

I’m a groovy cat who’s into technology, Eastern Thought, and house music. I’m a proud and dedicated father to the coolest little guy on the planet (seriously, I'm NOT biased). I’m fascinated by ninjas, the Internet, and anybody who can balance objects on their nose for long periods of time.

I have a utility belt full of programming languages and a database of all my knowledge on databases... I practice code fu. Oh, I've also done actual Kung Fu, and have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

I run. I meditate. I dance. I blog at PaulSpoerry.com, tweet @PaulSpoerry, and I'm here on Google+.

I'm currently work for IBM developing web enabled insurance applications for IBM and support and develop a non-profit called The LittleBigFund.

Comments

  1. saravanan kumar says

    July 9, 2016 at 7:19 am

    Hi

  2. Ikhlas Khan says

    July 9, 2016 at 12:39 pm

    Hi post editor of G+ isn't working. Is there any reason?

  3. Paul Spoerry says

    July 9, 2016 at 3:15 pm

    Hey +Ikhlas Khan, PostEditor hasn't been updated to work with the "new" Google+ layout. So if you've recently switched that would be why. If you're still using the old one then Google modified the underlying page layout and I'd have to update it. Lemme know either way. If it's the old layout and not working and a quick fix I can see about updating it. At this time I don't have time/plans to do a rewrite for the new layout.

  4. Ikhlas Khan says

    July 10, 2016 at 12:00 am

    +Paul Spoerry It is not working in both layouts. I tried on both "old" and "new" G+ layouts

  5. Paul Spoerry says

    July 10, 2016 at 8:35 am

    +Ikhlas Khan ok so they must have changed the layout. I'll add it to me todo to take a look.

  6. Ikhlas Khan says

    July 11, 2016 at 2:33 am

    +Paul Spoerry thanks

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